Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A pilot with a major U.S. airline -- and formerly the Navy -- says he's had 29 years of physicals from flight surgeons, and he's never once been asked about his mental health.
John Gadzinski also says pilots wouldn't tell a doctor about a mental health issue, because it would go "right to the FAA" -- and would probably mean the loss of the pilot's commercial license.
Pilots and safety experts say there isn't much in the way of effective, real-world screening of airline pilots for mental problems. This, even though regulations in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere say mental health should be part of a pilot's regular medical exam.
Airlines typically ask pilots to take mental health screening exams when they apply for a job -- but experts say follow-up is cursory, at best.
Tuesday's crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 into an Alpine mountain, which killed all 150 people aboard, has raised questions about the mental state of the co-pilot.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
